10 tips for planning your kitchen to maximize space
The kitchen is the heart of the activity of the house. This living space must be designed according to the needs of all its occupants.
And what is the essential element in a kitchen? Storage space, of course… everyone agrees that in the kitchen, more than in any other room in the house, there is always a lack of it!
How to optimize space in a kitchen?
By means of furniture that can perform several functions and some tricks.
We present 10 tips that can help you make your kitchen user-friendly and functional.
1. Reducing stock frees up the counter
It often happens that the kitchen and the living room are open plan. In such a case, the staircase to get to the basement is frequently placed in the living room, near the front door, but the wall that one faces when going down is located in the kitchen.
It is possible to use the wall in question to insert an upper cabinet module as well as an additional lower cabinet box, made to measure, including a section to recess the microwave oven, thus releasing a good size space on the kitchen counter.
If the circulation space near this place allows it, why not add a retractable board to place the hot dishes coming out of the microwave oven when you want to stir the food?
The golden rule: the objects placed on the kitchen counter must be used every day. Otherwise, they have no place here.
These additional modules could be very useful for storing your small appliances that you don’t use very often, but that you want to keep close at hand.
2. Smart storage, maximized space
Store objects that are used regularly in strategic places:
The custom-made spice drawer
Spices should be easily accessible, close to where you prepare your food. On the other hand, it is necessary to avoid that they are too close to the stove, because the heat given off by the latter will deteriorate them very quickly. Specialists in custom kitchen layouts will find the perfect place for them.
There are sliding drawers, made to measure, very useful for spices.
3. Set up restricted areas
Each zone has a function. You wouldn’t think of sitting on the stove to carve your food would you?
In addition to storage, designers specializing in kitchen ergonomics (the art of organizing workspaces, among other things, with a view to improving and increasing productivity) recommend three (3) other sections, i.e. the space of:
It is best if the food preparation area is located near the stove, with no gap between the two
A garbage can and compost bin installed near the food preparation area will be strategically placed. Wrappers and peels won’t have to travel through the whole kitchen.
… and even better! Why not integrate the waste bin into the central island and embed a small recycling bin under the food preparation plan?
4. Well-thought-out storage can pay off
In the last section, we covered the appearance of the storage area.
Made -to-measure kitchen cabinets containing plates, glasses, cups… located near the dishwasher, that is well thought out!
5. Good evening… he’s gone!
The famous “little bench” in the kitchen, which the children who are starting to help with the dishes use, can be replaced by a small concealed stepladder.
Unless you can easily reach the top of cabinets, everyone needs a small step stool in the kitchen. Why make guests or children stand up to use their kitchen chair to reach high objects?
6. Custom stainless steel sink
If plates, glasses and utensils are sent directly to the dishwasher, cleaning work tools such as pots, food preparation or baking dishes and other items that you prefer to put away without delay is a necessary evil.
Large, custom-made two-bowl sinks have many advantages:
The double sink is often associated with a mixer tap that can be used with one hand (a tap with a single central lever that can be rotated either to the left or to the right to obtain water at the desired temperature and at the desired flow rate).
If the sink is located in the central island, it can be covered with a cutting board to enlarge the workspace (the sink is then under the counter top). The designers of Sojo Le cuisine are familiar with the manufacture of stainless steel kitchen furniture.
7. Your living space is small? You have to multiply
There is a proliferation of small urban dwellings (and even houses with reduced spaces).
if it is recommended to integrate an island that can serve as a work plan, but also to take a meal, in a kitchen of limited size, the benches can become bulky.
By fitting them into a made-to-measure island, the problem is solved in a durable and practical way,
a removable island that can be moved as needed. While including significant storage spaces, it is understood that we will find neither sink nor hob,
a sliding work board hidden in the food preparation plan,
a retractable kitchen table hidden in the counter (seen from the outside, it looks like a drawer),etc
8. Is your living space spacious? You have to reduce
If we say that in nature, the void is made to be filled. Indeed, it is not because you have more space that the kitchen should be loaded with an array of massive and dark furniture.
Rustic sideboards, massive dressers and buffet hutches in large quantities should give way to lower furniture. The idea is to leave the visual field free of any obstacle (furniture). You have to see far! Hence the interest in seeking the advice of specialists in the manufacture of custom furniture located in Quebec.